The First Week of Advent

Welcome to the first week of Advent! As we enter this busy time of the year, I encourage you to take some time to away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, baking, and tying things up at work and school to really focus on preparing for the birth of Jesus. Take some time as a family and think of things you can do to get ready for Jesus' Birthday. At children's liturgy, we talked about all the things we do to prepare for our Christmas guests--setting the table, cooking, buying presents, doing laundry, cleaning the house, writing cards, etc. But, what do we do to get ready for Jesus? We spend so much time getting ready the big Christmas dinner or Christmas morning and forget about the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Every day that you spend preparing for Christmas guests, Christmas dinner, or Christmas gifts, take some time to also prepare for the birth of Jesus. Pray as a family. Create your own meaningful Advent calendar. Listen to faithful Christmas music. Write letters to Jesus. Create your own nativity scene. Go see a play or movie about the nativity. Write a family Christmas prayer. Think of an Advent goodwill project to do as a family. For those of you who love pinterest as much as I do, take a peek at all the other ideas out there as well. This is a busy time, but it is also a beautiful and joyous time. As you begin your Advent journey, here is a great video that speaks to many of us at this time of year. Enjoy!